I can’t deny that my belly is getting bigger and bigger these days. I can’t hide it under my sun dresses and hubs says I have started to walk differently now. I have, apparently, begun to utilize the penguin waddle.

One of the side effects of being pregnant is the dry skin, especially in the belly area. I’ve never had an ashy belly. If anything, my legs have always been the terrible culprit for dry skin and sometimes spots on my face. Because of the change in hormones during pregnancy, some people can get really really dry skin.

I started moisturizing my belly about a month ago before my skin started getting really dry. It was kind of a coincidence because Hautelook was having a Nature’s shea butter sale. I got a 16 oz tub of cocoa-butter for $36 (normally they’re $60). It’s unrefined, meaning that it’s in its most natural state and retains most of its healing properties. Some shea butter have been bleached and treated, resulting in a less useful product, much like enriched bleached white flour. It’s not all that useful for you.

Nature’s Shea Butter, Coco-Shea

Unfortunately for me, when it came in the mail, the tub had melted into a liquid. UPS doesn’t keep their trucks air conditioned, so all the butter melted when it was delivered to the house. Some of the liquid did leak out of the container making everything in the box a little bit greasy, but it wasn’t enough to feel like I’d lost too much product. I put it in the refrigerator to solidify, which it did, but it remained a slightly grainy texture in the tub.

grainy coco-shea texture

I’m not sure if this is normal or what, but it doesn’t seem to have changed it’s ability to moisturize. I put this on my belly in the morning after I’ve showered. I put some into the palm of my hands, rub them to warm them up, which turns it into a liquid consistency and rub it on my belly. The only downside is that it’s a little bit greasy, it’s butter after all. But the feeling goes away after about fifteen minutes.

I had originally put it on in the morning and the evening, but i think the coco-shea was a little bit too moisturizing and I got a few little red bumps on my skin. It wasn’t itchy, just terrible looking. So I returned to putting it on only in the morning and that’s enough for me. I also put it on my legs and they don’t look as lizard-like as they used to.

The other thing that I changed was my soap. I used to use Dove Sensitive Skin body wash, but I recently switched to Nature’s Shea Butter’s bar soaps. I decided to try it since it was on such super sale. I got the 6-pack sampler for $16, which usually retails for $30. I didn’t get to pick what six came with the sampler pack, but that was ok with me.

I first used the Orange Hibiscus and it smelled SOOO GOOOD. I use it with a net sponge and it lathers up really well. Since it’s a moisturizing soap, I think it helped with keeping my natural body oils on my skin instead of stripping it off completely. The bar lasted me about a month and a half and I’m now using the Ocean Mist version. It’s not as lovely of a smell, but it’s not terrible either. I think I just loved the Orange Hibiscus one so much.

What I don’t love about the six pack is that two of the soaps (Honey Almond and Mango) contain fragrance and that’s something that I try to avoid when it comes to things I put on my body. I sometimes get eczema on my torso, mostly due to stress, I think, but fragrance exacerbates the problem. Since my laundry detergent is unscented (again, due to the eczema), I’ve stuck the lavender soap into my dresser drawer and the clothes smell lovely. I think I might do the same with these two with fragrance, however, the honey almond doesn’t smell like much.

Orange hibiscus though, I think once Hautelook has another one of their sales, I’m going to stock up on that for the year. I suspect the 6 bath soaps will last me about 9 months or so and the Hautelook sale will come around again. Nature’s Shea Butter is something I see on sale there often.